Fla. Legislature to keep map changes simple

Circuit Judge Terry Lewis on Friday ruled that the Florida Legislature must draw up new congressional districts by Aug. 15. Lewis said that he will then order a special election later this year for those new districts.

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Circuit Judge Terry Lewis on Friday ruled that the Florida Legislature must draw up new congressional districts by Aug. 15. Lewis said that he will then order a special election later this year for those new districts.

Florida legislators are returning to the state Capitol with a simple goal.

Circuit Judge Terry Lewis on Friday ruled that the Florida Legislature must draw up new congressional districts by Aug. 15. Lewis said that he will then order a special election later this year for those new districts.

Senate President Don Gaetz said Wednesday that legislators want to "minimize any unintended chaos" to other congressional districts.

Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith said it's clear that GOP leaders are willing to draw a new map to avoid the chance that other districts could be declared unconstitutional if a court fight lingered on.

A new studyfrom researchers at the University of Hong Kong and the Indiana University estimates that corruption is costing Americans in the 10 most corrupt states an average of $1,308 per year, or 5.2 percent of those states’ average expenditures per year. Researchers studied more than 25,000 convictions of public officials for violation of federal corruption laws between 1976 and 2008 as well as patterns in state spending. Take a look at the 10 worst states for corruption: